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ORIGINAL: 29redballoons

My personal opinion would be that any activity that makes you feel shame, regret, or condemnation is a sin.
I would feel that anything that made me feel less in the sight of my Lord is a sin for me. If I questioned it,
I would avoid it.
Just my .02.

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This is a touchy subject to be sure but one that is necessary.

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ORIGINAL: tinydancer2

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This is a touchy subject to be sure but one that is necessary.

I do agree, Poetsfree.

The subject is very vast and knit with other issues and stuff, indeed.

I do approach it by different roads,I do not think have the same weight and are all automacticaly sin.

For exemple:

1) When young girls/women are discovering their bodies, naturaly, and ended up discovering pleasure etc.

a)Its is very necessary in my understanding that women know their wonderfuly made bodies, created by the Lord.
b) Hopefuly the issue is dealt with wisdom by parents, to not "mess up" young women and how they see their bodies and etc.
c) Necessary maintain girls well informed about their own bodies and educate them. No one must touch itbut themselves. There is high amount of abuse targeting young people, by people close to them.
d) There is all sort of "epidemic behaviours" going on and starting very early, nowdays. Young girls as boys being exposed to massive sexual stuff and information.
There are many young people engaged in very dangerouns behaviours very early in their lives.

2) When the activity is addictive, external stuff being used, like fantasy and porn. Porn among women is growing reality. As much women not talking about it, its happening anyways. Shame,guilty, secrecy and etc is excellent environment to anyone keep stronghold and pet sins. Like males, sexual addicted females need acountability, of course.

3) The activity is done in marriage bed -parteners are at same page about the subject .

4) I do not aproach it as a sin when women (and men) are releasing, not lusting after anyone they are not married to.


"Above all, talk to the LORD, pray and wait on Him. He will give you answers, for you don't want merely man's opinions but God's truth. May God bless and enrich all with His glory and magnificent grace, with healing in His wings and deliverance in His hands, in Jesus name, amen!"

amem.

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ORIGINAL: browneyes222

This is a tough area for talk for many women and so it is not talked about. When I was a teen I started experimenting with touching myself and I felt lot's of guilt, shame afterwards. I found a book in the bible bookstore about masturbation and by the time I finished reading it seemed everyone who did it was going to hell. Masturbation in a form of sexual release I don't believe is wrong. Masturbation with lustful thoughts and fantasies of people you are not married to is wrong, sinful according to the bible. So, can a woman masturbate without sinning? The answer is yes if she is doing it as a release without lust or fantasizing over men she is not married to which may not be easy to do.

That's my opinion on it.

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ORIGINAL: tinydancer2

The way I see masturbation, is a natural build up and than a release. Its not sex -to me- because it does not engage another person by any means.

I do guess people will sure have different approaches based on their individual, unique experiences with the subject. As much kids makes body discoveries early I guess huge majority of boys may learned very young how to really do it. I do guess most/many girls made their discoveries later than boys. I have not much idea about females but males started very early forming habits of it.
Makes sense people ended up doing stuff their own way, whatever it may become, to ritualize it , to trigger it themselves, feeding it by images, readings and whatever they may had chose to and got used to. Masturbation are used to calm down, energize, comfort,self pacifier, enternaining taking boredon away and etc as some may choose to start a day or end a day with it or both or not that frequent. It may ended up as compulsive behaviors like any addicted to drugs, food or anything else or not at all.

I understand addiction, compulsion, playing Russian roulete with my health as I kept feeding toxic destructive stuff inside my body,knowing I could die by desease triggered by it. I smoke cigarettes for more than 30years. I had to smoke: before and after meals, after coffee, after sweets, after alcohol, before go to bed, as soon I wake up before brush tooth, when onthe phone, after the phone conversations, when i was nervous to relax, when i was calm to really enjoy being relaxed. I was a slave of nicotine , I did created "rituals" for it, whithout noticing, ended up chain smoking had lost the count of how many and burned lots of money with my habit. I would give up my health for smoking. I quitted cold turkey and it was the hardest thing to go throu, I do still miss nicotine very very strongly, at times. And like an alcoholic that can't have a single sip, I cannot have a single puff ever again,if I trully want to b free from it.

I do think different people are just vulnerable to different things. BUT, I do believe strongly, that, if I am standing I must be careful to not fall down... As much I do know my personal weakness, I am not playing safe without a guard, as not opening doors to a "new thing" taking placing of the old one, "just because". Hmmm, as many exsmokers ends up gaining extra weights without much restrain initialy. In my mind all addicteds have same standing, as the Bible names clearly the ones who will not enherit the kingdom.

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ORIGINAL: poetessfree



So are you suggesting that teenagers could become addicted/enslaved to masturbation? Like other addictions and are living in sin? Because I find it hard to believe that a teenager would grow up wanting to masturbate than to be with the opposite sex. Addiction = the state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming, as narcotics, to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma. I am not saying that some people are not addicted to sex some are, that's another topic but like another poster said, masturbation is not the same as having sex with another person. And statistically, teenagers are not having severe trauma with this issue. Majority of them turn out okay and live normal lives. Again I believe that God is not condemning these kids and neither should we. Now when one gets older and it becomes a stronghold(guilt,shame) for him/her then I think that they should ask for deliverance.

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This response confused me. You tied in addiction with this topic. I was addicted to cigarettes just like you were. Also crack cocaine & marijuana. I had to have it(cigarettes) in all the ways you named. I even robbed my little son's piggy bank to buy more when I ran out of money. Rolled up butts from the ashtray in cigarette paper to make 1 cigarette. But one day I said, " for one week, I am going to give up smoking for you God. YOU have done so much for this world, I want to do that for you? But I need Your help, please help me." I was totally commited to doing that. God took my little bitty faith(I was a baby Christian) and worked on my behalf. That one week turned into 6 years, praise God! Cold. No patches/pills or gum. Recovery works differently for people. Unlike you, I hated smoking. I hated the smell in my hair, skin and clothes. I hated it when the smoke would blow in my face from the wind. I hated that I couldn't rollerskate or jog or play sports too long because I would get winded. So my being free is not the fact that I can't smoke, its the fact that I don't want to smoke. I have no desire to smoke. EVER again. To do so would be like Lot's wife looking back and I aint letting ole devil place that yoke around me again. I 've got God. I can breathe, my lungs have cleared up, I don't cough and I thank God for that everyday! And I am no longer an addict but I claim 2 Cor 5:17 and declare that I am a recovered and delivered and former addict. Behold all things are new,old things are passed away, praise the living God. Sorry, I work with addicts, I tend to get passionate about addiction. Back to the topic:

So are you suggesting that teenagers could become addicted/enslaved to masturbation? Like other addictions and are living in sin? Because I find it hard to believe that a teenager would grow up wanting to masturbate than to be with the opposite sex. Addiction = the state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming, as narcotics, to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma. I am not saying that some people are not addicted to sex some are, that's another topic but like another poster said, masturbation is not the same as having sex with another person. And statistically, teenagers are not having severe trauma with this issue. Majority of them turn out okay and live normal lives. Again I believe that God is not condemning these kids and neither should we. Now when one gets older and it becomes a stronghold(guilt,shame) for him/her then I think that they should ask for deliverance.

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ORIGINAL: W.O.F.

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ORIGINAL: poetessfree



So are you suggesting that teenagers could become addicted/enslaved to masturbation? Like other addictions and are living in sin? Because I find it hard to believe that a teenager would grow up wanting to masturbate than to be with the opposite sex. Addiction = the state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming, as narcotics, to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma. I am not saying that some people are not addicted to sex some are, that's another topic but like another poster said, masturbation is not the same as having sex with another person. And statistically, teenagers are not having severe trauma with this issue. Majority of them turn out okay and live normal lives. Again I believe that God is not condemning these kids and neither should we. Now when one gets older and it becomes a stronghold(guilt,shame) for him/her then I think that they should ask for deliverance.

Yes....people can and do get addicted to masturbation. It leads to severe social and psychological retardation for lack of a better term. It leads to further sex addictions, and often to the inability to have 'real sex'.

Sorry...no matter how you look at it masturbation IS a sexual act. It isn't intercourse, but it is sexual.

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ORIGINAL: virtuous09

Truthrevealed, I am so glad you posted this. I have been struggling with this since I was 10 years old. I really don't want it anymore. I believe I am doing better at it because it doesn't happen often. I am alone, after being married and divorced twice. I pray alot, and those are the times when I really am tempted. I am 32 and have three boys. Waiting on God to send me a great husband. But I enjoyed your post, and I think a fast will probably help me.

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ORIGINAL: virtuous09

What kind of fast should I go on for this, what is the most effective?